Sydney FC have defeated fifth placed Melbourne City 2-0 thanks to strikes from Luke Ivanovic and Adam Le Fondre at Jubilee Stadium.

Luke Ivanovic’s strike was the highlight of the first half, scoring his first ever A-League goal early in the game to give the Sky Blues the 1-0 advantage. The youngster received a perfectly weighted pass from Milos Ninkovic, before turning between two Melbourne defenders and calmly placing his shot in the bottom left corner.

The remainder of the first half was a tight battle in the midfield, with both teams defending well but having less attacking chances than either side would have hoped for. A number of injuries slowed the game, with Ivanovic behind removed from the field with a bandaged head after an illegal tackle from Harrison Delbridge.

As the game went on, Sydney FC began to have the majority of the attacking opportunities. One of the better chances of the half came from striker Adam Le Fondre, whose powerful shot was rebounded out for corner. Only minutes before the half time whistle, a Sydney FC corner bounced to the feet of Joshua Brillante, but his strike was just wide of the goal.

Rhyan Grant performed well, powering up the right side creating attacking opportunities. The Socceroo almost set-up a goal when he crossed a ball to Paulo Retre, whose back-heel flick at the near post was narrowly saved by Eugene Galekovic.

Melbourne City started the second half strongly, with a chance to equalise in the first minute of the restart when Lachlan Wales blasted the ball over the top from close range. Just moments later, a ball glanced across the face of the Sydney FC goal, narrowly missing the feet of the City attackers.

Sydney FC were unlucky not to score a second goal mid-way through the half after Le Fondre’s shot was parried away by Galekovic into the path of Mitch Austin. The attacker’s strike hit the post from the six yard box before rebounding into the hands of the City keeper.

With just over ten minutes of regular time remaining, Melbourne City were awarded a penalty for a foul on Bart Schenkeveld inside the box. Riley McGree stood up to take the spot-kick, but Andrew Redmayne was able to get down to the right side and deny City from equalising.

Le Fondre finally put his name on the scoresheet in the dying moments of the match as he dribbled towards Galekovic and lost his defender before sliding the ball into the middle of the net. The striker made the score 2-0 to Sydney FC, giving the home team some breathing space before the end of the match.

Sydney FC’s win leaves them only one point behind second placed Melbourne Victory, with the Sky Blues hoping to pick up another three points next week against Brisbane Roar.

Sydney FC 2 (Luke Ivanovic 9’, Adam Le Fondre 86′)

Melbourne City 0

Stadium: Jubilee Stadium

Referee: Jarred Gillett

Assistant referee: Owen Goldrick and Greg Taylor

Fourth official: Adrian Arndt

Home Team: Andrew Redmayne (GK), Aaron Calver, Benjamin Warland, Alexander Wilkinson, Joshua Brilliante, Paulo Retre, Adam Le Fondre, Milos Ninkovic, Brandon O’Neill, Rhyan Grant, Luke Ivanovic, Mitchell Austin (32′), Daniel De Silva (57′), Cameron Devlin (90+1′)

Unused subs: Jop Van Der Linden, Aleksander Cisak (GK)

Away Team: Ritchie De Laet, Scott Jamieson, Harrison Delbridge, Bart Schenkeveld, Rostyn Griffiths, Riley McGree, Kearyn Baccus, Eugene Galekovic (GK), Lachlan Wales, Luke Brattan, Florin Berenguer-Bohrera, Nathaniel Atkinson (64′), Dario Vidosic (69′), Dylan Pierias (73′)

Unused subs: Mark Birighitti (GK), Iacopo La Rocca

Feature Image Credit: Jaime_Castaneda_Sydney_FC_1617_Rhyan_Grant